Author: peterb51

9th November 2025

Today we hosted Larry’s remembrance party, as today would have been his birthday. 

We laid on some snacks and drink and awaited the arrival of some of his friends.

At 2.00pm trucks started to pull up outside. We originally planned to hold it outside, but because snow was expected, we changed it. We shouldn’t have bothered because most of his friends milled around outside, and they brought their own beer.

I decided to bring round the fire pit, so at least they didn’t freeze to death, and, I had a lot of off cuts to burn.

The fire roared away, and heat was welcomed.

I talked to all of Larry’s old buddies, to him he was known as “Turk” something to do with turkeys where he worked. In his hay day we was a wild one, once firing a machine gun into the forest. I told the story of him working on our truck, he was laying underneath with a cigarette burning close any volatile substances, coughing and spluttering as he did. I made a hasty retreat expecting the truck to be blasted into the next street.

As the stories were shared the weed came out, the laughter grew louder, and the beer flowed more freely, it was great to meet his buddies.

His daughter was there, she has the task of selling the property, quite a responsibility for someone so young, but it will help her financially to build a new life.

It was two hours of fun, everyone enjoyed themselves, and to gather the group together meant a lot to them.

Good old Larry’s spirit must have smiled on us, but I bet he was dying for a joint.

8th November 2025

I had the most emotional video call with my friend Martin. The first words he said to me was “I’m dying mate” he looked like a defeated man slumped in his chair, his face twitching with pain.

This was not the Martin I knew, even in his worst moments he was all about fighting. What I saw on the screen was a shadow of his former self, and I was shocked.

He told me how the rest of his days would play out, he would lose all control being fed by tubes and in constant need of care, this he adamantly refused to accept. He talked about alternatives,  if his spiritual beliefs would allow him to choose.

Always a difficult question, but quality of life is important, and to a person travelling down a dark tunnel towards the light with no hope of a return, they should be allowed to make that choice. 

We talked for an hour, at times his voice cracked with emotion, he is not afraid, he worries about his wife Liz, but I reassured him that she is a strong person, she will be okay.

He had been close to death before, he used to talk about the white room, where someone would ask if he wanted to stay or return, that gives him calmness, he will go there again.

We both laughed at the story of the twenty foot bungee that he inadvertently left attached to his truck when we went to a fish and chip shop.

As we stopped in the car park and saw the bungee he said in a loud voice “ Oh no what’s happened to the dog” that entertained a few of the customers.

We both cried at the inevitable time we would have to say goodbye to each other. I told him that he was inspirational to me, all the things he had tackled despite his handicap. He built his house from a ruin, single handedly, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

And so as his voice weakened, and the pain was intolerable we ended our conversation, this is not the end, we will talk again.

I sat quiet for a moment, my red eyes stinging, the rest of the day beckoned.

I had to visit Henry to agree the materials he needed for next week, so I could start the trim out. I like Henry, being Spanish, and with a sense of humour, his misunderstanding of what I’m saying makes us both laugh.

I’m looking forward to doing the work.

The other crisis of the day was I was unable to draw out any cash from the machines, all my transactions were cancelled.

This was a shock, I had noticed that even trying to buy on Amazon was not possible, panic was setting in.

I was prepared to shout at my bank for maybe forgetting to tell me about any changes to the banking relationship between the UK and US.

However, everything was explained when I looked at my UK phone. They had contacted me by text to query some transactions that I needed to verify, and temporarily blocked my card.

Phew! That was a relief.

We did finish a dresser, a quick clean and polish and out.

7th November 2025

One thing we did yesterday was pull out all the small pieces that we acquired but never did much with. 

There is always a trade off between the amount of work required, and the reward we get from doing it, and quite frankly they are not worth the effort. 

So we hauled it all out, set it up and took pictures, Kelli then posted them on Marketplace.

There was a lot of interest in most of the stuff, and today there were a stream of buyers arriving to collect their prize.

I decided to tackle Matt’s guitar.

I had made a routing jig over the past couple of weeks, now was the time to see if it worked.

Everything was clamped down firmly, I had set the depth of cut on the router, and prepared to commit. The router roared and the first bits of rosewood flew out, the duration was less than a minute, then it was done, a cavity was created.

After squaring of the corners I was ready to cut the piece to fit in.

I had found a piece of rosewood in the basement of the family home, Dave had collected all sorts of wood offcuts, and this one was perfect.

I cut a piece to the thickness I needed on the bandsaw, and then squared it up on the disc sander.

After fine tuning the fit I finally added the glue and stuck it in. The next challenge was shaping the fret which had a slight curve.

I made a template, and carefully scraped away until the template matched the shape.

I was relieved, okay it is a different piece, and it shows, but once the strings are refitted it should be hardly noticeable.

Later we had to collect a dresser from the north side, it is a decent piece that just needs the kickboard refitted, then we will sell it like it is.

6th November 2025 

It was breakfast time with Lloyd at the Southside inn. This was originally set for 10.00am, but delayed because we had someone coming to collect the dresser. 

Like most places that serve breakfasts the clientele are of the older generation, which, of course I forget that I am a member.

Happily, I still don’t consider myself old, and at least there is a spring in my step which is more than I can say for the majority of the customers.

Anyway with my Farmer’s Platter with sourdough toast, in front of me, we began. The quality of the food is good in my view, and ample in size.

The coffee is always plentiful, as Lloyd is an avid drinker of the stuff.

We usually start off with the topics from the news, Lloyd from the mainstream and I from the alternative media. This topic was the result of the New York Governor election. For the first time in history they have a socialist, who is promising free this and free that, and to pay for it, he will tax the rich. Lloyd pointed out that all the rich people will migrate to Florida, moving their wealth and businesses out of the city.

Yes there is going to be problems, but one has to understand that many things are said to buy the votes that conveniently get forgotten once in power.

It like Trump saying that with all the savings DOGE were making he would give all taxpayers a thousand dollars refund, well that all went quiet, typical political bullshit.

With the breakfast settled in my tummy, we parted agreeing to meet next week for our beer session, my social life is booming.

I came home and started to do some repairs to the bodywork on the truck, having a new nose was the excuse to tart the old girl up a bit.

I had bought a bottle of touch up paint at twenty four dollars, that has to be the most expensive liquid on earth.

I did a bit of filling, sanding and priming ready for a finish coat, that I have yet to buy. By the time I’ve finished I would have doubled the value of the truck.

5th November 2025

I’m confused, there is so much support for Israel I just don’t get it. If you come right out and say you that you disagree with what’s being done in Gaza you are labeled as an antisemite. 

I don’t get when “ Christians “ come out and support what Israel is doing, how can that be right? Jesus never preached about killing women and children, about destroying the lives of innocent people, how can all that be squared up?

Why are most countries sucking up to them?

Is it that the world banking system is controlled by the Jews?

Can it be that most of the media in the world is owned by the Jews?

Are most of the political parties in the world funded by the Jews? You bet they are.

The film and music industry have always been run by the Jews.

These people are very cunning, they manipulate others to do their bidding, the wars in the Middle East, we’re all examples of a bigger plan.

It has taken all these years of my life to realise that I’ve been played. Everything I read, every thing I’ve watched, every thing I’ve listened to, and everything I’ve was taught have been designed to not question, now I question everything.

To those who give a damn, it’s all out there, they can’t help to let slip what they are planning, it’s all done in plain sight.

I have said before, it’s all about distraction.

Covid was the awakening for me, if governments lie about that, they lie about everything, it’s to keep us scared, if we are in fear, we can be controlled.

One day I will comment on the masons, that is another story that will blow your mind, I thought it was just a gentleman’s club, oh no it’s much more than that.

Phew! And now for something completely different.

We VC sold two furniture pieces this morning, one a cedar chest and other a dresser that Kelli was just finishing, a good start to the month.

I took time to give the truck a good wash. I can’t remember when I did it last, but I did discover what colour it was.

I also fitted a new cover that protects the front of the vehicle from stone chips, the old one was pretty ropey. Kelli found one on eBay which arrived yesterday, I had the pleasure of fitting it.

I also discovered why one was fitted in the first place, it was to hold the front on.

Some of the brackets had broken on the sides and the cover did the job of holding it all together.

Fitting it was a struggle, a bit like trying to stretch a cow over a barrel. 

Once done, it made the truck more respectable again.

4th November 2025

It was back down to John the wood’s workshop for another instalment of Pete’s chair build. I had high expectations of what the day would hold, unaware where that would lead.

I didn’t have to pick John up from his home this time, and drove straight to the workshop.

He had a lot of timber that had been taken out from the kiln that all had to be machined, it made my little stack look insignificant.

There were also panels that he had laid up for his church project on the bench that we had to move before I could start on my job.

I had decided to cut a different angle on the front of the side panels, the original was not visually strong enough, and I wanted the cushions to be more visible.

This is where things went wrong.

I set the guide for the saw, no, John did not have a track saw.

As the piece of wood fell away I saw to my horror, bits of the biscuit showing.

Oh no! I exclaimed, I’m not sure if John knew why I was suddenly pissed off.

Unfortunately I was committed, I had to do the other side as well, and yes, the same happened.

The only way I could get over it was to find the piece that I had cut off and make a small wedge from the same area where the biscuit was. John was looking in amazement, carefully I chiseled out the bit of biscuit and inserted the wedge. I was pleased that the piece matched perfectly, and with glue and sawdust became virtually invisible. I then did the other three, John must have thought I was a magician, “ Well I’ve never seen that before” he said with his wry smile

.

This took up quite a bit of time, but I gave the side panels a good sanding, but by then it was time to take John back home.

The next thing on my list was to pick up a dresser from Zeeland.

The address took me on a dirt road to very nice house, with two young boys playing in a pile of leaves, what simple enjoyment can be had with autumn debris.

With the dresser loaded, I got back on the dirt road heading home.

Kelli had been busy, she had painted a long dresser, and all the handles, and, she announced that someone might already be interested to buy it.

On my was to John’s I did have a call from Henry where we discussed the trimming in his house, I gave him my rate, and he didn’t seem bothered about that, what was more important was my availability, that I need to sort out.

3rd November 2025

We sold two pieces this morning, the bookshelf and the small dresser. It was a bit of a challenge getting it into her car, but after a bit of a shuffle we managed it.

All this happened before our weekly shop, the same old routine of finding out what we want is out of stock

The trees are particularly beautiful this time of year, I took pictures of Larry’s trees, I’m sure, this will be the last year they are standing, once the place is sold they will be cut down.

Changes can be a time of sadness, when a landmark is no longer there to be appreciated, it leaves a hole.

I had a job to do on one of the new dressers that we picked up last week.  It required a good scrapping,but it was a solid pine top, and should come up a treat.

We now had some space in the garage for the other dresser that we kept in the truck. This will be a light sand and a new paint job,  that’s Kelli’s job.

I did a bit more to the router jug for Matt’s guitar repair, I’m hoping that will be tackled this week.

Now that it’s getting dark early we have to rush to get things pictured, we finished a cedar chest, as the sun was disappearing, but we got it posted.

2nd November 2025

Well no one told me the clocks changed last night, I was oblivious, it was only when Kelli mentioned it that it sank in.

But life continues, I was relishing in the fact that it was earlier than I thought.

I was able to get in the garage to get the dresser ready for collection, that was until Kelli came out with the phrase “ I hate people” the signal that the buyer had pulled out, and offered a lame excuse. We know most of those. Why can’t people be honest and tell us the truth, it doesn’t matter, because we have done it ourselves. If they have second thought, it’s okay, it’s their prerogative, we don’t like it, but life is like that.

Anyway, after that letdown, I had a job for Elaine to do. Yesterday she brought over two wooden corbels that she wanted something added to.

There were two options, a wooden ball or a cone. She preferred the cone, but I suggested the bottom part of the ball with the cone on top.

So with skill and sandpaper I proceeded to sand the mounting surface so that the cone blended into it, I was quite pleased with myself, I just hope Elaine is.

Then Kelli called me in, it was time to go to her mother’s for ice cream. I quickly changed, and off we went. 

It wasn’t until we got there that Matt, who looked surprised, said, “ What are you doing here, you’re an hour early” 

Yep! We forgot to change the big clock in the house, duh!

1st November 2025

A miserable day, grey and rainy, summer is long gone, and the change is very noticeable. 

I wasn’t planning any furniture work, as Saturday is my “any other things that I want to do” day.  Today was recording day, and Chris was coming down to work on the stuff we started last week. I have transferred all the data to the Mac Pro from the laptop, so now things are more stable. I was hoping to start at 12.30pm but as alway he is alway late, it wasn’t until 2.30pm that he actually arrived. I had told him that I want to finish at 5.00pm so time was limited.

We got into things straight away. 

Now Chris is a professional musician and performs in care homes, so he is constantly playing guitar, but for some reason once recording starts he falls apart. This is known in the trade as the “Red light syndrome”.

This is where the concentration is so great it causes brain fade and you overthink the playing.

We scrapped all the tracks from last week confident that today would be perfection.

By the time we got to take six, it was not improving, so we had a cup of tea and a biscuit.

Starting again, he managed to get through it okay, but when we listened to it through the speakers the start of the song didn’t sound right.

I suggested that he worked out a different start, something that would lead in to the main body of the song.

After a bit of plonking and plinking he can up with something that sounded fine, and made the introduction more logical.

Kelli had gone thrifting with Elaine, so it was just the dogs in the house, but they didn’t care, all they do is sleep.

The timing was just right, the girls turned up just as we were finishing. I have to be pretty firm about finishing otherwise Chris would keep talking, but it was a good time, and I’m finding my way around the software now.

31st October 2025

It’s the time when you feed children all the bad things you tell them to avoid, yes it’s Halloween.

Like all good and kind neighbours we put out a bowl of goodies. It was a last minute deal, I rode along to the corner store on my bike with a purse full of quarters, that was the only cash I had left.

I grabbed two of the closest bags of sweets that were left, and rushed to the register. I was hoping that no one would be behind me, and have to watch patiently as I counted out my stash of coins. Typically, a queue quickly formed, now there were a whole line of people all looking to see what the hold up was.

I tried to justify my predicament by saying I stole my child’s pocket money, but that didn’t sound good in a god fearing land, so I told the truth instead.

Transaction over, I left and rode back, by now the temperature had dropped to its evening levels, I was glad I wore my scarf.

We set out a bowl on our wall with a little note, waiting for the little angels to descend.

By the end of the evening, most of the treats were still there, maybe the lessons in heathy living has got home.

The day started well, a good breakfast, and a drive to collect a dresser that Kelli had seen on Marketplace. As we drove along her senses picked up the site of a free dresser on the side of the road. I suspected something was happening when I heard her neck crack, and the truck spun around. Concussed by the sudden change in direction I realised what was happening, and prepared myself for another salvage operation.

The dresser wasn’t in bad condition, a good scrub up and maybe a stripped top, and it could be out to be sold. This meant that we had to go back home to unload, then retrace our steps back to the original place we’re were picking up the original purchase.

This one had to be carried down the stairs, but it was a good make and in good condition,

We loaded the carcass and the drawers into the truck and headed off for our next appointment.

Up in the wilds of West Olive,was where Henry lived, you know the one who forgets things.

I had offered to give a quotation to trim out his newly renovated house overlooking Lake Michigan. When we arrived the place was buzzing with activity, roofers were busy laying new sheets of plywood ready for new shingle.

Henry greeted us and led us into the house which looked like it had survived a hurricane.

The rooms upstairs had been gutted and drywalled, and he wanted all the doorways and skirting boards redone.

This was a preliminary visit because they didn’t know what they actually wanted, Henry had one idea, and his wife had another. There was no guessing who would win this argument, but I agreed to give them a few sample ideas when I return in a couple of weeks.

This would be a nice change from furniture and probably more lucrative.

We did a bit of a conversion to a piece that wasn’t getting much attention. I cut a couple of shelves, drilled some holes, and added some shelf supports, and now it’s a neat bookcase.